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Green on Dalton: ‘Can’t let him get beat up like that’

A.J. Green stood at his locker putting the finishing touches on his flight attire when he let out reality as he sees it for an offensive night where the Bengals failed to score on their final five drives of a one-point loss.

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Green on Dalton: ‘Can’t let him get beat up like that’

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton (14) is sacked on a third down in the fourth quarter of the NFL Week 10 game between the New York Giants and the Cincinnati Bengals at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on Monday, Nov. 14, 2016. The Bengals fell to 3-5-1 with a 21-20 loss to the Giants on Monday Night Football.(Photo: Sam Greene)

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The sting of this latest Bengals loss still hung in the air even as Visitor Locker Room 2 inside MetLife Stadium mostly lie empty early into Tuesday morning.

A.J. Green stood at his locker putting the finishing touches on his flight attire when he let out reality as he sees it for an offensive night where the Bengals failed to score on their final five drives of a one-point loss.

“We got to be able to protect Andy,” Green said. “We can’t let him get beat up like that. Can’t have your franchise guy, your quarterback, take those hits today. We just can’t have it. We didn’t have that last year and I don’t know what’s the problem this year.”

So many coaches, players and fans aired similar frustrations following the 21-20 defeat and move to 3-5-1. Those people aren’t the normally reserved and calculated Green. When the star receiver talks, everyone associated with the Bengals organization listens.

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton (14) gets back to his feet after being sacked on Monday night.(Photo: Sam Greene)

He’s not wrong. Last year, Dalton was sacked 20 times in 12 games at quarterback. He’s already gone down 28 times this year while he’s improved exponentially on his scrambling and ability to improvise plays.

Each of the last three seasons his sack percentage never topped five percent of dropbacks. He’s currently at a career high 8.1 percent this year.

Dalton was hit six times on top of the sacks, two of which came as consecutive 7-yard losses on the final two offensive plays of the night. At one point, Dalton attempted to carry three Giants defensive linemen out of the pocket after the entire pass rush collapsed in his lap.

“We were in too many third and longs,” he said about pressure. “That hurt us. They can drop back and sit in zones and take away things down the field. We have to be in third-and-manageable situations to help that cause.”

Pressure and unenviable situations cut into Green's production Monday. He caught seven passes for 68 yards on 11 targets with a touchdown. The Giants lined a safety over top of him all night to assure no deep passes. He knows the answer to such problems involves pulling the safety out of there with an effective run game.

"You've got to run the ball," Green said of the rushing attack which averaged 3.4 yards per carry on 23 rushes. "Couldn’t capitalize on that. Didn't capitalize in the red zone."

The combination took away from a good night becoming a great one against the Giants. And when Green hasn't been great this season, the Bengals lose. In five losses Green averages 64.2 yards on 5.4 receptions. In the three wins and tie against Washington he is averaging 160.8 yards on 9.8 receptions.

If there's no time, there are no big plays. And there's a series of bruises for his quarterback.

"That’s what we always preach is protecting our quarterback," Green said. "You can’t let him get beat up like that. You can’t, you can’t, you can’t."